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Turkish Press Review, 98-07-10
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
10.07.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] CEM URGES ISRAEL TO TAKE POSITIVE STEPS
[02] ALBRIGHT'S LETTER TO KLERIDES
[03] ANKARA REITERATES GREEK MILITARIZATION
[04] TURKEY A KEY COUNTRY
[05] DEMIREL GOES TO ALBANIA
[06] ECEVIT: "WE DO NOT BARGAIN OVER MISSILES"
[07] KARADAYI IN CYPRUS
[08] LAKE'S REPORT CONCERNS ATHENS
[09] TURBULENCE INJURES SIX
[10] GERMAN INDUSTRIALISTS TO VISIT TURKEY
[11] STANDARD AND POORS VISITS FINANCE MINISTER
[12] QUAKE ROCKS AEGEAN ANATOLIA
[13] ANKARA DISAPPROVES SUGGESTIONS TO STOP FLIGHTS OVER CYPRUS
[14] GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION TESTS S-300 MISSILES IN RUSSIA
[15] ECONOMIC BRIEF
[16] PKK-TIKKO COOPERATION
[17] AUSTRIAN PRAISES TURKEY
[18] WORLD CARTOONISTS IN ISTANBUL
[19] EXPLOSION AT MISIR CARSISI
[01] CEM URGES ISRAEL TO TAKE POSITIVE STEPS
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, returning from a four-day visit to
Israel where he had talks with top Israeli and Palestinian officials,
said yesterday that he had warned Israel about the limping Middle East
peace process. Cem cautioned Israel about the grave outcomes if Israel
should fail to comply with the US proposal to withdraw from 13 % of the
West Bank area in 15 days, the Anatolia news agency reported.
"I tried explaining to Israeli officials that they have to take a
positive step in this direction by the end of this month or otherwise
they will miss the train" Cem said, noting that the Israeli Parliament,
the Knesset, goes into recess at the end of July. "We all felt that
there was great tension" Cem said, adding that radical ideas might
emerge at a time when the Palestinian side appeared extremely tense.
Cem also underlined his opposition to the idea of one-sided intervention
in all international issues.
[02] ALBRIGHT'S LETTER TO KLERIDES
In an effort to ward off the installation of Russian-made S-300
missiles in southern Cyprus, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
has sent a letter to Greek Cypriot Leader Glafkos Klerides, suggesting
that the S-300 missiles be stored outside Cyprus or be replaced by
rockets with a shorter range than that of the S-300s, according to the
Greek Cypriot daily Philelephtheros. Greek Cypriot Administration
spokesman Christos Stylianides yesterday confirmed that the letter was
sent, but declined to comment on its content./All papers/
[03] ANKARA REITERATES GREEK MILITARIZATION
Turkey reasserted yesterday that Greece's militarization of its
East Aegean islands was a flagrant breach of international law and urged
Athens again to comply with international agreements, defining the
status of the islands. Turkey conveyed a verbal note to Greece last
week, protesting against the militarization of the East Aegean islands,
which were demilitarized under the 1923 Lausanne and 1947 Paris
treaties. Referring to the note, Greece on Tuesday accused Turkey of
stirring up tension in the region and dubbed Turkey's arguments as
"historically unacceptable". "Greece's attitude shows that it has no
respect for the Lausanne and Paris treaties which established a
sensitive balance between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean. Turkey calls
on Greece to obey international law" a Foreign Ministry statement said
yesterday. /All papers/
[04] TURKEY A KEY COUNTRY
The Clinton Administration which supports the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline
project for the transportation of oil and natural gas resources from the
Caspian region world markets, stated yesterday that Turkey was a key
country in US energy policy. Speaking at the Congress, deputy Secretary
of State Marc Grossman said that Turkey had become the leading country
in the Caspian Basin energy policies and added that the US
administration would work to strengthen Turkey's position and continue
cooperating with Ankara to complete the project./Cumhuriyet/
[05] DEMIREL GOES TO ALBANIA
President Demirel will pay an official visit to Albania on 14-15
July. During this visit he is expected to call on the Yugoslav
Administration to solve the Kosovo problem through peaceful means.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] ECEVIT: "WE DO NOT BARGAIN OVER MISSILES"
Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Bulent Ecevit said
yesterday that the deployment of S-300 missiles by Greek Cypriots on the
island will not be made an issue to bargain over. The US is willing to
explore the possible creation of a "no-fly" zone over the divided island
of Cyprus as a way to ease the tension there, US Defense Secretary
William Cohen has said. Regarding this issue, Bulent Ecevit said: "We
cannot make our security an issue to bargain about". /Hurriyet/
[07] KARADAYI IN CYPRUS
Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi will go the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) today. Meanwhile, Greek
Cypriot newspapers describe Karadayi's one-day visit as a "new
provocation". /Hurriyet/
[08] LAKE'S REPORT CONCERNS ATHENS
A new report by EU permanent representative in Ankara, Michael
Lake, is mainly about Athens. The report sent by Michael Lake, who
until recently worked in Ankara for eight years, just to the EU prior to
his departure from Ankara, blamed Greece and the Greek Cypriot
Administration for Turco-Greek tension and the S-300 missiles. Greek
newspapers described Lake as a "Turkish spy". /Hurriyet/
[09] TURBULENCE INJURES SIX
A Turkish Airlines (THY) 340-type Airbus, flying from Istanbul to
Tokyo two days ago, flew into turbulence over the Ural Mountains. Six
Japanese passangers, who did not fasten their security belts, were
injured. /Hurriyet/
[10] GERMAN INDUSTRIALISTS TO VISIT TURKEY
A mission from the German Confederation of Industry (BDI), which
includes the largest industrialists' groups in Germany, is to visit
Turkey at the invitation of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen'
Association (TUSIAD). During the visit, leading German and Turkish
industrialists will have contacts aiming to boost economic ties between
the two countries. The mission will also be received by President
Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. /Milliyet/
[11] STANDARD AND POORS VISITS FINANCE MINISTER
Representatives of Standard and Poors(S and P), a well-known US
rating institution, met yesterday with Finance Minister Zekeriya
Temizel. During the meeting, also attended by Treasury officials, S and
P representatives were given details about tax reforms and improvements
in tax proceedure. S and P also visited the Central Bank. Today they
will move on to Istanbul where they will come together with private
sector representatives. /Milliyet/
[12] QUAKE ROCKS AEGEAN ANATOLIA
Yesterday evening an earthquake which registered 5.3 on the Richter
scale rocked the Aegean cities of Ýzmir, Manisa and Aydin and
surrounding area. Still deeply concerned by a recent earthquake's
destruction in the Adana region, which killed 145 and seriously damaged
thousands of buildings, people were alarmed by the 10 seconds long
quake. No casualties has so far been reported, but some houses received
minor damages. /Milliyet/
[13] ANKARA DISAPPROVES SUGGESTIONS TO STOP FLIGHTS OVER CYPRUS
Officials in Ankara voiced yesterday that they did not approve a
recent Greek suggestion that the Greek Cyprus administration will not
deploy Russian-made S-300 missiles if military flights over Cyprus are
banned . "Suggestions to stop all military flights over Cyprus cannot
even be discussed," said officials in Ankara while the Greek Foreign
ministry spokesman said that they were pleased with the positive
reaction of US Secretary of Defence William Cohen to the Greek proposal.
/Milliyet/
[14] GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION TESTS S-300 MISSILES IN RUSSIA
Trained by Russian experts, military officers from the Greek
Cypriot administration yesterday tested Russian made S-300 missiles
which are being planned to be deployed in the Greek side of the island
of Cyprus. According to a statement made by an anonymous Russian
Defence Ministry official to Interfax news agency, the tests were also
observed by officials from the Greek Cypriot administration. The
Russian official also claimed that the test firings had been successful.
/Milliyet/
[15] ECONOMIC BRIEF
Electricity production increased by 10.01 % in the first three
months of this year, when compared with the same period last year,
reports the Anatolia news agency.
Meanwhile, the average production of automobiles increased by 11%
last month, and an 18% increase over the first six months of this year.
The first hydro-unit at the Kralkizi Dam, which is included in the
Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), has gone on stream and a second
unit will be included in the system in August 1998, reports the Anatolia
news agency.
[16] PKK-TIKKO COOPERATION
PKK members yesterday killed the Kurukopru village headman in Zara,
and TIKKO terorists killed Cakilsu village headman in Tasova. Both the
PKK and TIKKO terrorists were wearing military uniforms to prevent the
local people from informing the security forces.
In another incident in Gevas, Van, one soldier was killed and one
was wounded yesterday as the result of clashes between separatists and
security forces.
Turkish security forces have started operations in the
Turkey-Iran-Iraq triangle near the Semdinli district of Hakkari. The
operation is being supported by air forces. /Sabah/
[17] AUSTRIAN PRAISES TURKEY
The weekly Austrian Liberal News Magazine praises Turkish tourism
in its latest issue. The magazine says that Turkey has the most
suitable price-quality combination among touristic countries for the
1998 tourism season. /Sabah/
[18] WORLD CARTOONISTS IN ISTANBUL
World famous cartoonists from all around the world are meeting in
Istanbul to attend the 18th International Nasreddin Hodja Cartoon
Festival, organized by the Istanbul Cartoonists Association. Results of
festival cartoon competitions will be announced today in the historical
Yerebatan cistern. /Sabah/
[19] EXPLOSION AT MISIR CARSISI
An explosion at the Yeni Cami entrance of the historic Misir
Carsisi (Egyptian Bazaar) in Eminonu, Istanbul, caused enormous panic.
The explosion occurred at exactly 2:00 p.m., yesterday next to a buffet
at the entrance to the market. After catching fire, the gas canisters
in the buffet blew up. Initial police reports say that seven people
were killed and at least 120 people were injured, 10 seriously. It was
also reported that there were 11 foreigners among those injured. /All
papers/
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